Director David Fincher’s post-Benjamin Button project has been somewhat of a mystery—a 3D/CG Heavy Metal? Brian Michael Bendis’ Torso? Matz's The Killer? Oh god, not the Fight Clubmusical?!? But now it looks like we can cross at least one limbo-ing project off his to-do list: Rendezvous With Rama, based on the cerebral, 1972 novel by sci-fi great Arthur C. Clarke about about the human response to an ominous alien spaceship sneaking its way into the Milky Way. Says Fincher:

“It looks like it’s not going to happen. There’s no script and as you know, [star Morgan Freeman’s] not in the best of health right now [after an August car accident]. We’ve been trying to do it but it’s probably not going to happen.”

The veteran actor had been attached to the project in various forms for roughly eight years now. And when previously interviewed, it appeared as if Fincher had been giving the execution of the pic great thought:

“It’s probably technologically within striking distance right now. That was always the thing: You couldn't afford to build these things as sets. It’s just too huge.… I think it’s more along the lines of motion-capture.”

Like the curious beings with their cryptic motives at the helm of the Rama, it now looks like we'll never quite know what really could've come of this long-anticipated movie.